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Saturday, January 19, 2013

Chocolate Chip Rye Blondies

So,
the first time I made blondies was a little over two years ago. Guess who they were
baked for? Yup, DFJ. We just started getting to know each other then… he was
the hot guy at the gym who happened to like inviting me over for dinner once a
week at his place.

One
day, I wanted to do something sweet for him and baked some blondies that
unfortunately, didn’t turn out quite right. They were not bad, just a little
hard and not too sweet. I had second thoughts about giving them to him, but what
was I to do? Eat them all or give them to my coworkers and pretend that I made
it for them? Uh-uh! So, even though the blondies were just so-so, I drove over to
his house after working out at the gym (he lived close). My brain kept telling
me to just forget about it and drive home. But my instinct refused to listen. I
wanted him to know that, that…

All
of a sudden, I had a stroke of brilliance! What fixes a subpar baked good?
Duh, ice cream! So, I drove to the grocery store, picked up some vanilla ice
cream, went to his apartment, and walked to his door with determination. When I
got there, I lost all the nerve and wondered if he had another girl over or if he
was in the middle of something. Perhaps I did not want to know…? I dropped off
the bag of blondies and the tub of ice cream, climbed back in my car, called
him and told him to open his front door. After we hung up, I drove home. Smooth
move, huh? Well, we are still dating! It must have worked!

Fast
forward to the present… Blondies, take two! DFJ’s mom gave me Ina Garten’s
newest cookbook, Foolproof, for Christmas and I love it! Many recipes will be
cooked from this book and I figured that a good place to start would be her
Chocolate Chunk Blondies. It took me forever to get started because I had to
thumb through my other cookbooks and browse online to find a blondie recipe
that uses less sugar than Ina’s. All the recipes I found require more sugar and
even less flour… yikes! As much as I wanted to follow her recipe to the tee,
circumstances did not allow me to do so. I didn’t have any chocolate chunks,
just chocolate chips; not enough walnuts; and some rye flour that needed to be
used. Remember when I swore off all-purpose flour a long time ago? Well, I have
some now. DFJ bought some for the birthday cake he made for me and we have lots
of it left over. If you’ve been following me for a while now, you know I hate
wasting, so naturally, I had to use the all-purpose flour too.

Even
with all these substitutions and omissions, my blondies rock! You really can’t
go wrong if you follow Ina’s basic recipe. These blondies are awesome on their
own and I am confident to tell you that you don’t need ice cream to cover up
any imperfections… There are none, if I may say so myself. But I won’t hold it
against you if you add a scoop of ice cream on top!

In
a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk flours, baking soda, and salt. Carefully move
the dry mixture to a sifter or a strainer and sift back into the bowl (make
sure to catch the ingredients that will go through the holes). Whisk well again
and set aside.

Place
the butter and sugars in a separate, large mixing bowl. Using an electric
mixer, cream the butter and sugars on high speed until it turns light and
fluffy, about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Using a flexible, rubber spatula, scrape
the bottom and sides of the bowl. Pour in the vanilla and mix on low speed for
about 30 seconds. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed for a minute
each. Scrape the bowl again before and after the addition and mixing of each
egg.

Add
the flour mixture one cup at a time and mix on low until everything is just
incorporated (meaning, you can see streaks of flour) or well incorporated (no
streaks of flour left). *See explanation below.* Scrape the bottom and sides of
the bowl to make sure everything is well combined.

Stop
for a moment to move the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven
to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom, sides, and corners of a deep, baking pan (I
used a 13x9x2 cake pan) with butter.

Gently
fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts into the batter using a flexible,
rubber spatula. Drop big dollops of the thick batter all over the pan. Spread
the batter as evenly as you can, until every inch of the pan is covered. Smooth
the top. Bake for exactly 30 minutes. Any minute longer and the blondies will
overcook and harden! Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in a few
spots. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done. If you happen to stab a
chocolate chip, the toothpick will come out messy, so pick a different spot.
Place the pan on a cooling rack and let it cool completely before cutting into
squares.

*If
you want your blondies on the fudgy side, do not overmix the batter. If you
want your blondies cakey, mix until everything is well incorporated.*

P.S.
These blondies are great with your morning coffee and perfect for
after-dinner-Netflix time! Have a great MLK weekend friends!

1 comment:

Haha, nice! Who wouldn't want goodies dropped at their door? I have never made blondies before, but I have got to tell you, yours look divine. I also have rye flour that I want to use up, and this is the perfect way! All I need to do is make 10 batches ;)(this rye flour was originally for a sourdough starter and, like you, I hate to waste)

About Me

Hello, my name is Margarita. I try to live a healthy lifestyle by eating well and working out. I am a cooking enthusiast and I like sharing my love for good food. Most of my recipes contain lots of vegetables and perhaps a bit of meat here and there. Staying active is one of the things that keep me sane. I love doing yoga, walking, hiking, biking, lifting weights, and occasional running. Join me in my food, travel, and life adventures and together let's eat well, cook right, live strong, and be healthy!